It growled, the sound shattering the silence. The stasis was lifted, and the world was running again.
Steve drew his bow and released. The arrow hit the bear in the belly with a dull thud, sinking in up to the nock. Steve readied another arrow and fired again, this time hitting the muzzle at a slight angle, tearing half of it off exposing tissue and part of the bear’s gums.
The beast still did not drop, and it looked like it didn’t even feel the torture the men were putting it through. It charged, targeting Steve.
Steve drew and released, the arrow swooshing through the air and hitting the bear in its side. The projectile penetrated the skin, sinking into the animal with no visible effect.
The crazed bear tried to paw off Steve’s head, but he just barely made it out of the way of the deadly claws by rolling to his left. He ended up in a high-knee position. He raised his bow and sent another arrow to meet the bear that was turning back to claw him, roaring as it turned. The arrow entered the open maw with a loud crack, wedging into the palate as the tip poked through the skull.
The bear stopped charging, coughing and gagging, trying to vomit out the irritating projectile lodged in it’s mouth. It backed up, head down, looking almost depressed as it wandered towards the stone pillar and collapsed. It finally remained motionless.
Steve sighed in relief and turned to Carl, who was fixated on the shadow standing on the edge of clearing just out of view.
“What’s that?”
Carl shook his head, not taking his eyes off the figure. Steve drew his bow, taking aim at the humanoid shape.
“Who goes there!?” Steve tried to sound confident and strong, but failed. The shadow fidgeted, making Carl panic. He fired, missing the target and hitting a tree as the bullet sent bark flying.
Steve held his breath, centered the figure on the steel aim and was just about to release when the clearing behind them started stirring.
He spun around, and what he saw fractured his sanity; the bear was getting up again, but there was something different about it. Something otherworldly. It’s movements were jerky and uncoordinated, and the ground beneath it was pulsating and undulating. Something was forcing its way inside the carcass of the grizzly as the re-animated beast turned to Steve.
The pale moonlight lit its torn up face, but there was no solace in seeing it, only more horror. The bear’s flesh was already rotten and decomposed, hanging in saggy lumps on its sides like it had been dead for days. The skin on its face was peeled off, revealing the white bone underneath. The loose part of the muzzle looked shriveled, and the fur was covered in rancid moss. Maggots were raining from its torn, swollen belly. There was no way the animal was alive, yet there it was, speeding towards Steve on jiggly, desiccated legs. The one eye burned with rage, focusing on the man who had punctured the other. There was something squirming under it’s skin, fueling the husk.
Steve let out a primal scream, drawing the string and releasing, but in his panic he had forgotten to put the arrow in the arrow rest. The string rang empty, and he dropped the bow as the grotesque creature rushed towards him.
Carl pulled his attention away from the shadows, managing to keep his cool. He fired twice, hitting the target with both shots, but they only caused clouds of puss to squirt from the entry wounds.
Steve was able to pull out his Bowie knife and take one swing at his assailant, cutting a massive gash in a shoulder before the animal collided with him, launching Steve into the air like a ragdoll. He tried to break his fall with his hands, but he caught the ground at an improper angle and his left wrist snapped with an audible crack. He tumbled over the broken hand, twisting it even more. He could feel the shattered bone fragments gnaw at his flesh, but somehow he managed to keep a hold of the knife.
Whimpering he started to crawl somewhere, not knowing or caring where, just away. He was now being driven by instincts, and they were soaked in fear.
Carl took aim and pulled the trigger, only to hear the sound of an empty rifle.
“Shit!”
He grabbed the barrel and attacked the bear, swinging as though he had a baseball bat. The rifle stock made dull thudding sounds with no visible effect. The bear turned, lightning-fast, and hit Carl with a massive foreleg. It made the 220 pound man do a backflip, landing on his back hard. The wind was knocked right out of his lungs, and his eyes were filled with black dots as he struggled to breathe.
Steve turned to face the beast. It was standing there, about a foot from his face, measuring the man in front of it.
Steve was staring right into the judging eye of the bear. The animal tilted its head, curious about what Steve was going to do, almost taunting him. The dangling muzzle swayed back and forth, almost like it was laughing.
“What the Hell is this, man?”
It had to be the tumor. This wasn’t happening.
The bear brought the decimated muzzle just an inch from Steve’s face, blowing a puff of putrid air through the nostril that was still intact. Steve retched, nearly vomiting. The bear threw its head left and right a couple more times, then it turned and started to walk away. Steve was staring after it with a broken breath, fighting to keep himself collected.
His mind just could not process the situation. The bear stopped and slowly looked over its shoulder, as if it was having second thoughts about leaving. It turned around completely and started
